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June 27, 2013

Marine's Hamdaniya Iraq Murder Conviction Tossed

Gretel C. Kovach | UT San Diego |A major Iraq War crimes case
was upended Wednesday when the military’s highest court dismissed the
conviction of a former Camp Pendleton Marine accused of murdering an
unarmed man in Hamdaniya, Iraq, in 2006.

Sgt.
Lawrence Hutchins III was convicted in 2007 at general court martial by
a jury of his military peers. He is serving an 11-year sentence in the
brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled in Hutchins’ favor because
a confession obtained by naval investigators in Iraq violated his Fifth
Amendment rights, according to the opinion posted on the court’s
website.

One judge also
criticized Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for making “disturbing and
inappropriate comments” to the media in 2009 during post-trial clemency
proceedings that created an “intolerable strain on public perception of
the military justice system.”

Those comments, however, were not the basis for the ruling because the court does not have jurisdiction over those proceedings.

Sgt. Mike Stokely died Aug. 16, 2005, in Iraq. He was one of those
extraordinary young men who have a tremendous impact on so many people
even though his time among us was cut short.
To honor his memory, Stokely's family has organized the Mike Stokely
Foundation for the purpose of helping children and others who might not
otherwise be able to afford it gain access to good books and the skills
needed to read them for pleasure and learning.
"Mike loved to read, from the time he was a small child till the day he
died in Iraq. In fact, during the last call his Dad received on Aug. 8,
2005, he talked in glowing terms about how much he appreciated reading
material sent to him," his family explains.
If you would like to help honor the memory of one of America's fallen,
more information about the Mike Stokely Foundation at P. O. Box 833 Sharpsburg GA 30277.
The telephone is 678-416-1387